Snatching a half dozen ships in waters some hundreds of klicks from Somalia is no mean accomplishment. It shows good organisation, decent planning and a high degree of motivation.
With the movement of shipping lanes further from the Somalian coast the pirates had no viable option save to follow the traffic. Absent an effective--which is to say mandatory--system of convoys, the pickings would be rich for those willing to take the (slight) risk of meeting one of the many men-of-war patrolling the region.
Some of the snatched ships weren't really worth the effort. Others, definitely were good prizes, worthy additions to the dozens already littering the small harbors of the Pirate Coast. But, what the heck, any ship, no matter how small, might mean a ransom given enough piratical patience.
Then there was the one which got away. This time it wasn't the usual story of firehoses blasting borders off their grappling hook secured ropes. Or a tale of speed and fast turns until the skiff with the Jolly Roger is left in the wake of the fleeing target.
This time the narrative, while vague in details, is redolent of the "Let's Roll" spirit in the sky over Pennsylvania on 9/11. This time the script was written by an American crew and an American captain. This time the good guys won--at least in part.
This time the US, the Obama administration and We the People are left with a something other than a merely passing interest in remote events. Whether by accident or calculation, the Jolly Swagmen of the Gulf of Aden have invited--no, demanded--that we take an up-close-and-personal interest in the profitable brigandage of Somalian provenance.
Right now, not simply in some easy to put off future, the administration has to decide how the US is going to deal with a genuine threat to our national and strategic interests. As is fully to be expected, the advice is pouring in. (Or, to err on the side of accuracy, the usual people have been consulted by the Rolodex spinners of the mainstream media and have given the customary quotable counsel.)
As the American captain, Richard Phillips, bobs in a lifeboat from his ship, the Maersk Alabama, surrounded by gunmen with nervous fingers on assorted triggers, the Obama administration has to formulate policy on the fly. The ship may be free, but the US isn't. Even more than Captain Phillips, who reportedly offered his body as a hostage to facilitate the freeing of his ship, the US is being held at gunpoint by a collection of thugs spawned by a society in which thuggishness has been developed to a fine edge.
The USS Bainbridge is on the scene. Close enough that the pirates can see it. Other surface combatants are en route. Maritime surveillance aircraft are overhead. The pirates aren't going anywhere unless we let them.
So what?
The presence of superior firepower reportedly has not impressed the seagoing bandits. News organisations have contacted the pirates afloat by satellite telephone. They appear to be both nervous and determined. Their associates back at the homeport maintain that their brethren will "defend themselves," and with a degree of chutzpah which deserves applause want the ransom which is their due.
There is a pervasive subtext which reads, "The Americans will never risk their compatriot. Hang tough, make the expectable threats. They will pay. They won't ever shoot."
The subtext echoes the oft-repeated claim by jihadists around the world that Americans and Westerners generally love life and won't risk it. Jihadists love death.
There is a great deal of truth to that contention. It is a truth with which the Obama administration will have to deal not only as regards Captain Phillips but in the formulation and execution of policy regarding the pirates of Somalia and other spots.
With this as context let's shake out the options. While doing so we have to keep in mind that the problem is not simply one of getting Captain Phillips back alive (if humanly possible) but dealing with piracy generally, abating a nuisance as it were.
The High Minded and Lofty Thinking have a pair of rather contradictory reflexive positions. The first is to declare the problem of piracy is one for the "international community." The second is to bloviate to a greater or lesser extent on the contention that without an effective government in Somalia there can be no solution to the piracy problem.
Well, that's real nice. Either recommendation is inherently worthless.
The one, the lay off of responsibility to a mythical beast, the "international community," means no one country can or should attempt to protect its interests or its nationals.
The other, the End Somalian Anarchy view, takes a long toke on the bong and hallucinates a condition which has not existed for a generation and shows no sign of becoming real in the near-term.
In a real sense the "international community" has already responded. There are anti-piracy patrols from the European Union, NATO, Russia, China and the US. These patrols are of utility, but do not constitute a final solution to the seaborne muggers. Of greater importance is the Convention on the Law of the Sea which provides a legal basis for any country's arrest and trial of persons committing piracy. Refreshingly, the term "piracy" is broadly defined in the Convention.
Critics have argued that the piratical expeditions launched from Somalia exploit a loophole in the Convention. These critics maintain that the Convention was not drafted with a view to the possibility that a coastal state would fail and provide safe haven for maritime criminals.
The position advanced by these critics is accurate. It is also irrelevant. The US (and other countries) has entered into agreement with Kenya to take custody of pirates for trial and, if convicted, incarceration. This sort of ad hoc arrangement is less than completely satisfactory given the endemic corruption of the Kenyan criminal justice system, but it is something.
The US could, of course, try the pirates seized by American personnel in Federal court. Another option for the US is to press vigorously for the formation of yet one more international court. These entities seem to be much loved by the UN, so the creation of one charged with the duty of rendering justice to pirates is viable.
However, as Attorney General Holder said, it is too soon to talk about where and by whom pirates will be tried, convicted and jailed. First, you have to catch your pirate.
The French got the priorities right. Their military went ashore, caught the bad guys who had seized a French flagged yacht and held passengers and crew hostage for ransom. The crooks were then taken to France. The French courts have held that the trial can go forward. When convicted the no-longer-jolly swagmen will do their time in a French slam.
Hello, AG Holder, is there a message there?
The way to make the sealanes safer is to make piracy far less so. It means capturing pirates. It even means (Note to the High Minded, close your eyes, icky-poo word follows) killing pirates.
It even means running the real risk of making a mistake. Of inadvertently capturing or killing that rare species, a genuine Somali fisherman. When--not if--when that inevitability comes to pass it means suffering loud protests and energetic attacks. It means listening to the threats of retaliation.
While not one hundred percent leakproof, the maritime surveillance assets available to the US and other allied forces as well as the ships and aircraft extant in the theater of operations have a high probability of successfully finding and stopping motherships and their associated skiffs before these find a target of opportunity. The further offshore shipping moves in a search for safety, the higher the probability of successful interdiction and capture. (It might be noted that the further from the coast one goes, the lower the chance of encountering a genuine fisherman.)
While lawyers on retainer to ship owners and their trade associations may tremble in their Guccis at the thought, it might be highly advisable for ships to carry trained and armed security details. Even a small armed contingent, perhaps limited to selected officers would be sufficient to deter the typically microscopic boarding parties employed by the Somalian pirates. (Had the American crew of the Maersk Alabama had a few M-4s, the captain wouldn't be sitting in a fuelless lifeboat right now.)
One course of action which should be resolutely rejected by the Obama administration now that it is directly involved is the payment of ransom. The owners of any and all US flagged vessels should be prohibited from paying ransom. Period. This could be accomplished by Executive Order immediately. It should be done without any delay. If legally permissible, the Order should extend to the owner of any ship trading into or out of any US port.
The shipping industry including its insurance and security components have exhibited an intellectual barrenness of unbelievable extent by having paid millions, hundreds of millions to the Somali pirates. The collective brainlessness of the practice beggars the imagination.
Do any of these Deep Thinking business executives ever wonder why the more that is paid, the more ships and crews are seized? Sure, ransoms like bribes are simply one more cost of doing business, but piracy like blackmail is an activity of ever accelerating nature.
More payments equals more ships for which payment must be made. One does not have to be overly endowed intellectually to figure that one out. If the owners and operators, the insurance wallahs and maritime security people can't think the matter through, then, regrettably, governments must do the thinking. Starting with the USG.
Yes, if governments prohibit the paying of ransoms, the shipping industry will scream for effective action to counter the threat. And, governments, again starting with the American, must provide the necessary brains and muscles.
The Geek is not suggesting that AG Holder come out in favor of dangling pirates from the yardarms of US Navy warships. Rather it is necessary that pirates know they have a better than excellent chance of doing hard time not only in a French prison but an American supermax or even a Chinese Corrective Labor Camp.
It is even proper that the Somali know that there is a very good chance that some fine day or night he will find a Hellfire missile sharing his skiff.
It would be most salutary if the Jolly Swagmen whose guns are pointed at Captain Phillips discover when darkness falls that they have been joined on their lifeboat by a few SEALS with an attitude and the necessities for displaying that attitude.
As long as the US and the Obama administration drift along with the tide of High Minded sociological and political excuses justifying inaction against the piracy threat, it will both continue and grow. Worse, it will spread to other coasts. There are other poverty stricken countries on the coast of Africa. People other than Somalis who see that there is much money to be made at low risk if one has a small boat, an AK and a need.
A successful business plan is worth copying. And, the Nigerians are ready, willing and able to do so. There are others standing in line as well.
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